Collin Murray-Boyles Coming Back at Right Time For Raptors

Toronto Raptors rookie forward Collin Murray-Boyles is two games removed from his return to the lineup.

Murray-Boyles played 17 minutes in the team's latest win against the Utah Jazz, but was able to bump up that number to 24 minutes in the team's latest loss against the Los Angeles Clippers. Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic spoke about Murray-Boyles and his development to get back into a groove before the playoffs.

"Without our starting point guard and with the rotation being a little bit different, I think that Collin is still searching for his way," Rajakovic said postgame. "He's not in the same group, same rhythm that he was before this injury when he was playing.

"Even tonight was better than the previous game, so I think, game to game, he's going to be getting better. We also played some lineups that we did not see before, like Markelle played tonight. We also played Scottie and CMB and Jak some together or Sandro, so we played with three bigs there on the court."

Raptors Need CMB Back to Form

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace dribbles against Toronto Raptors forward Collin Murray-Boyles. | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

Murray-Boyles missed 11 games for the Raptors with a thumb sprain, and the team went 5-6 during that stretch. In the losses the team had, having Murray-Boyles' defence could have made a massive difference.

The Raptors are dangerously close to the Play-In Tournament, so it's almost as if the team is already playing in the postseason. These games should have that similar level of intensity, especially against teams that are also in the same boat as them in the standings.

Throughout the season, the Raptors are better in several metrics when Murray-Boyles is on the court versus when he is not. The team's rebounding, assist percentage, and block percentage are all better when Murray-Boyles is on the court. On top of that, the team has a better defensive rating when he's playing.

Murray-Boyles is going to be part of the Raptors rotation come playoff time. The question remains how much of a role he will play, but the Raptors are clearly planning for a significant opportunity for the rookie this postseason, so they need to make sure he is making strides in the final 10 games of the regular season to have him right and ready for the start of the playoffs.

Sign up for our free newsletter, which will bring all Toronto Raptors On SI stories every weekday to your email.